Edward Fox (actor)

Last updated

Edward Fox
OBE
Edward Fox 2011.jpg
Fox in 2011
Born (1937-04-13) 13 April 1937 (age 87)
Chelsea, London, England
Education Harrow School
OccupationActor
Years active1958–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1958;div. 1961)​
​
(m. 2004)​
Children3, including Emilia and Freddie
Parents
  • Robin Fox (father)
  • Angela Worthington (mother)
Relatives
Family Fox
Military career
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Service/branchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Years of service1958–1960
Rank Lieutenant
Service number 446128
Unit Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

Edward Charles Morice Fox OBE (born 13 April 1937) is an English actor and a member of the Fox family.

Contents

Fox starred in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973), playing the part of a professional assassin, known only as the "Jackal", who is hired to assassinate the French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963. Fox is also known for his roles in Battle of Britain (1969), The Go-Between (1971), for which he won a BAFTA award, and The Bounty (1984). He also collaborated with director Richard Attenborough, appearing in his films Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Gandhi (1982).

Fox portrayed Edward VIII in the British television drama series Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978) and appeared in the historical series Taboo (2017). In addition to film and television work, Fox has received acclaim as a stage actor.

Early life and education

Fox was born the first of three sons on 13 April 1937 in Chelsea, London, the son of Robin Fox, a theatrical agent, and Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, an actress and writer. [1] He is the father of actors Emilia Fox and Freddie Fox, the elder brother of actor James Fox and film producer Robert Fox, and an uncle of actor Laurence Fox. His paternal great-grandfather was industrialist and inventor Samson Fox, and his paternal grandmother was Hilda Hanbury, sister of stage performer Lily Hanbury. His maternal grandfather was dramatist Frederick Lonsdale, and his maternal grandmother was the daughter of football player and stockbroker Charles Morice. [2] [3] Fox was educated at Harrow School and completed his National Service in the Loyals, having failed to gain a commission in the Coldstream Guards. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Career

Fox made his theatrical debut in 1958[ clarification needed ], and his first film appearance was as an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962). He also had a non-speaking part as a waiter in This Sporting Life (1963). Throughout the 1960s he worked mostly on stage, including a turn as Hamlet . In the late 1960s and early 1970s he established himself with roles in major British films, including Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Battle of Britain (1969) and The Go-Between (1971). In The Go-Between, he played the part of Lord Hugh Trimingham, for which he won a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. His acting ability also brought him to the attention of director Fred Zinnemann, who was looking for an actor who was not well-known and could be believable as the assassin in the film The Day of the Jackal (1973). Fox won the role, beating other contenders such as Roger Moore and Michael Caine. [8]

From then on he was much sought after, appearing in such films as A Bridge Too Far (1977) as Lieutenant General Horrocks, a role he has cited as a personal favourite, [9] and for which he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the British Academy Film Awards. He also starred in Force 10 from Navarone (1978), with Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford.

In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on Cluedo , facing off against fellow actor Joanna David.

He portrayed King Edward VIII in the television drama Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978). In the film Gandhi (1982), Fox portrayed Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, who was responsible for the Amritsar massacre in India. He then appeared as M in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), a remake of Thunderball (1965). He also appeared in The Bounty (1984) and Wild Geese II (1985), both opposite Laurence Olivier, and in The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), and Stage Beauty (2004).

Later stage work

Fox consolidated his reputation with regular appearances on stage in London's West End. He was seen in Four Quartets , a set of four poems by T. S. Eliot, accompanied by the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Christine Croshaw. In 2010, Fox performed a one-man show, An Evening with Anthony Trollope , directed by Richard Digby Day. In 2013, he replaced Robert Hardy in the role of Winston Churchill in the premiere of The Audience , after Hardy had to withdraw for health reasons. In 2018, he appeared with his son Freddie Fox in an adaption of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband .

Awards

For his role as Viscount Trimingham in The Go-Between (1971), he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the following year's British Academy Film Awards. [10]

He won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the British Academy Film Awards a second time for his role as Lieutenant General Horrocks in A Bridge Too Far (1977). [11]

Honours

Fox was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to Drama in the 2003 New Year Honours. [12] [13]

Personal life

From 1958 until their 1961 divorce, Fox was married to actress Tracy Reed with whom he has a daughter, Lucy Arabella (born 1960), who became the Viscountess Gormanston upon her marriage to Nicholas Preston, Viscount Gormanston.[ citation needed ] In 1971, he began a relationship with actress Joanna David; they married in July 2004. [14] [15] They have two children together, actors Emilia (born 1974) and Frederick "Freddie" (born 1989). [14]

He has two grandchildren through his daughters: Harry Grenfell from Lucy's marriage to David Grenfell, and Rose Gilley from Emilia's relationship with actor Jeremy Gilley. [16]

Fox has residences in London and Wareham, Dorset. [17] [18]

Views and advocacy

Fox spoke at the conference for the Referendum Party ahead of the 1997 general election and was a friend of its leader James Goldsmith. [19] [20] He has also been a patron of the UK Independence Party. [21]

In 2002, Fox joined the Countryside March to support hunting rights in the UK. [22] He supported the restoration of the Royal Hall, Harrogate, funded by his great-grandfather Samson Fox.

In 2010, Fox gave his support to a local campaign to prevent a supermarket being built close to his home in Dorset, citing the impact it would have upon small and independent businesses in the area. He chronicled the events in an article for The Daily Telegraph . [18]

Fox also endorsed the successful "Leave" vote campaign ahead of the referendum to leave the European Union. [20]

Filmography

Selected theatre performances

Other projects and contributions

Related Research Articles

The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Awards, is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The ceremonies were initially held at the flagship Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square in London, before being held at the Royal Opera House from 2007 to 2016. From 2017 to 2022, the ceremony was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London before moving to the Royal Festival Hall for the 2023 ceremony. The statue awarded to recipients depicts a theatrical mask.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Howard</span> English actor (1913–1988)

Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film Brief Encounter (1945), followed by The Third Man (1949).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Courtenay</span> British actor

Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay has received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Silver Bear, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Emmy Award. He was knighted for his services to cinema and theatre in the 2001 New Year Honours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Holm</span> British actor (1931–2020)

Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert was an English actor. After graduating from RADA and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a successful and prolific performer on television and in film. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Hardwicke</span> English actor (1932–2011)

Edward Cedric Hardwicke was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in Colditz (1972–73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes (1986–94).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morley</span> English actor (1908–1992)

Robert Adolph Wilton Morley CBE was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, often in supporting roles. In 1939 he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of King Louis XVI in Marie Antoinette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna David</span> British actress (born 1947)

Joanna David is an English actress, best known for her television work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Andrews</span> English actor (1911–1989)

Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill (1965) alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the 1966 BAFTA Award for Best British Actor. The first of his more than 80 film appearances was in The Red Beret in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Bannen</span> Scottish actor (1928–1999)

Ian Edmund Bannen was a Scottish actor with a long career in film, on stage, and on television. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), the first Scottish actor to receive the honour, as well as two BAFTA Film Awards for his performances in Sidney Lumet's The Offence (1973) and John Boorman's Hope and Glory (1987).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Denham</span> English actor (1909–2002)

William Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Porter</span> British actor (1928–1995)

Eric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.

Francis Bernard Heptonstall better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English theatre director and actor. He is known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series, he also appeared briefly on radio and in film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Leach</span> British actress (1935–2017)

Rosemary Anne Leach was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for 84, Charing Cross Road and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her roles in the films That'll Be the Day (1973) and A Room with a View (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Orchard</span> English comedy actor (1930–1979)

Julian Dean Chavasse Orchard was an English comedy actor. He appeared in four Carry On films: Don't Lose Your Head (1966), Follow That Camel (1967), Carry On Doctor (1967), and Carry On Henry (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Britton</span> English actor (1924–2019)

Anthony Edward Lowry Britton was an English actor. He appeared in a variety of films and television sitcoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Sim</span> English actor (1925–2014)

Gerald Grant Sim was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the rector in To the Manor Born.

<i>The Day of the Jackal</i> (film) 1973 thriller film directed by Fred Zinnemann

The Day of the Jackal is a 1973 political thriller film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth, the film is about a professional assassin known only as the "Jackal" who is hired to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nana Palshikar</span> Indian actor

Nana Palshikar was an Indian actor who appeared in over 80 Hindi films. He made his film debut in 1935 with Dhuwandhar, and went on to play character roles in both Hindi mainstream and arthouse films. He was also cast in small parts in a few international productions such as Maya (1966), The Guru (1969) and Gandhi (1982). Palshikar was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, in 1962 and 1965. He was recognised with an award in the same category by the Bengal Film Journalists' Association in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Attenborough</span> British actor and director (1923–2014)

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, was an English actor, film director, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Fox (actor)</span> British actor (born 1989)

Frederick Samson Robert Morice Fox is an English film and stage actor. His prominent screen performances include roles as singer Marilyn in the BBC's Boy George biopic Worried About the Boy (2010), Freddie Baxter in series Cucumber (2015) and Banana (2015), and Jeremy Bamber in White House Farm (2020).

References

  1. ↑ "Edward Fox Biography (1937–)". filmreference.com.
  2. ↑ Barratt, Nick. "Family detective" . The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Players Indez: Charles Morice". England Football Online. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "No. 40722". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 February 1956. p. 1289.
  5. ↑ "No. 41359". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 April 1958. p. 2360.
  6. ↑ "No. 42226". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1960. p. 8794.
  7. ↑ Massingberd, Hugh (2 July 2004). "The old master" . The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Gandhi's General Dyer: Edward Fox was the quintessential Englishman onscreen". Hindustan Times . 13 April 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "A Bridge Too Far (1977)". British Film Institute. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
  11. ↑ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
  12. ↑ "No. 56797". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2002. p. 10.
  13. ↑ Host: Brian Matthew (10 August 1982). "Talking Hamlet". Round Midnight. 6:32 minutes in. BBC Radio 2 . Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  14. 1 2 Lee-Potter, Words Adam (17 September 2014). "Joanna David talks family, career and shares her favourite things about Dorset". Great British Life. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Joanna David's first time back in Chichester since 1971". chichester.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Actress Emilia Fox takes her cub to work" . The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Our Walks – London Walks". walks.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  18. 1 2 Fox, Edward (10 October 2010). "Edward Fox: how I helped save Wareham from the supermarkets". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  19. ↑ Carter, Neil; Evans, Mark; Alderman, Keith; Gorham, Simon (1998). "Europe, Goldsmith and the Referendum Party". Parliamentary Affairs. 51 (3): 470–485. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a028811.
  20. 1 2 "Edward Fox urges leave EU: "Sovereign power is absolute"". 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "UKIP sprouts as celebrities make a stand on Brussels". The Independent. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  22. ↑ "Edward Fox – The Consummate Actor". BBC News. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  23. ↑ Fraser, David (November 1998). The Royal Exchange Theatre Company Words & Pictures 1976–1998. Royal Exchange Theatre. ISBN   978-0951201718.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.